PPP projects seen to jack up GDP growth to 8% per year

MANILA, Philippines–The next administration is seen to benefit from the pipeline of public-private partnership (PPP) projects laid down by the current administration, as these additional infrastructure are expected to help jack up the average annual economic growth rate to 8 percent in the next six years.

Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran told participants of the Asia Finance Summit 2015 on Tuesday that the nine awarded PPP projects as well as the over 50 others still in the pipeline would add 2 percentage points to the 6-percent average gross domestic product (GDP) growth being enjoyed by the country now.

Beltran noted that the country’s infrastructure had been “deficient,” hence the additional investments through PPP such as new or improved airports, toll roads, transport systems and other vital infrastructure in the education and health sectors would support more robust growth.

The Finance official later told reporters that the next administration would be able to enjoy the higher growth rates if it would continue to implement the more than 50 PPP pending projects “to the fullest.”

“Since this [Aquino] administration started to remove the constraints on implementing PPP projects, the growth rates are expected to go up,” Beltran said.

The Aquino government intends to award up to 25 PPP projects before the President steps down from office next year.

The PPP projects that had been awarded by the Aquino administration are as follows: Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Link Road Project; first and second phases of the PPP for school infrastructure project; second phase of the Naia Expressway; Philippine Orthopedic Center modernization; the Automatic Fare Collection System; the Mactan-Cebu International Airport passenger terminal building; the Cavite extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 as well as its operations and maintenance; and Integrated Transport System-Southwest Terminal.

This year, the government is scheduled to rebid the Cavite-Laguna Expressway as well as roll out the Davao Sasa Port modernization project, North Luzon Expressway-SLEx Connector Road, and the south line of the North-South Railway Project.